The city's spending panel approved a $175,000 settlement Wednesday to the estate of a man who was killed by police in 2012.
The board voted 5-0 to approve the settlement without discussion, but Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said afterward that the Police Department is taking steps to improve its performance. She said the agency has had a reduction in the number of cases brought against the city and in the number of excessive force complaints. She also noted the city's seeing fewer discourtesy complaints.
"On the front end and on the back end with our training and with the support we're giving to officers and with our focus on better relationships with the community, we're seeing progress in significant ways," she said.
Rawlings-Blake didn't address any details related to the settlement involving the estate of Michael Omar Wudtee. The 38-year-old Randallstown man was shot by Officer Paul Heffernan on July 1, 2012. On that day, Heffernan saw Wudtee allegedly punching a woman when he ran from the officer. The two were involved in a struggle and Heffernan shot Wudtee, who later died.
City lawyers recommended they settle the $10 million wrongful death suit due to conflicting accounts of the event.
The mayor said no Police Department of Baltimore's size has "zero incidents," but she said her administration is working to build a better agency.
"I would love to be in a place where we had zero incidents but that's not the real world," she said. "The real world progress that we're making is encouraging."
On another matter, Rawlings-Blake expressed disappointment over the legislature's failure to pass a bill that would give the city police commissioner more power to discipline problem officers.
"I remain resolute in my determination to continue to advocate for more accountability, more transparency and more tools for the police commissioner to be able to discipline officers who are accused of wrongdoing," the mayor said.
Lawyers for Wudtee's estate and those representing Heffernan have not responded to the newspaper's requests for comment.
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